Volkswagen Issues Profit Warning Over Cost of Diesel Repairs<br />Diesel cars accounted for 46 percent of new car registrations in western Europe during the first half of 2017, down from<br />50 percent in the same period a year earlier, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Thursday.<br />FRANKFURT — Volkswagen warned on Friday that its profit in the third quarter would be hit by unexpectedly high costs for repairing<br />diesel cars in the United States equipped with emissions cheating software, part of its efforts to resolve the scandal.<br />Diesel has long been one of Volkswagen’s strong suits,<br />and its decline may help explain a drop in the company’s market share in the European Union, to 25.2 percent in August from 25.9 percent a year earlier.<br />The carmaker said in a statement that it would set aside an additional 2.5 billion euros, or<br />$2.9 billion, to cover extra costs to comply with a legal settlement in the United States.<br />Sales of diesel cars, an area where Volkswagen was once seen as a technology leader, have been dropping in Europe<br />because buyers fear the health hazards, while numerous cities are planning to ban or restrict diesels in urban centers.<br />Carmakers sold about 150,000 fewer diesel cars during the first six months of the year than they did in the first half of 2016.<br />Volkswagen has agreed to pay nearly $23 billion to settle a class-action suit by owners, as well as civil<br />and criminal proceedings by the United States government and individual states.
